EXTERNAL FINAL EVALUATION OF PILOTING THE USDA GUIDELINES IN THE HAZELNUT SUPPLY CHAIN IN TURKEY – ELIMINATION OF CHILD LABOR AND APPLICATION OF GOOD EMPLOYMENT PRACTICES FUNDED BY THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT NO. IL-28101-15-75-K-11 JULY 2, 2018 Final Evaluation of Piloting USDA Guidelines in the Hazelnut Industry in Turkey – Elimination of Child Labor and Application of Good Employment Practices– Final Report ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This report describes in detail the final evaluation conducted in March 2018 of the Piloting USDA Guidelines in the Hazelnut Industry in Turkey – Elimination of Child Labor and Application of Good Employment Practices. Amy Jersild and Tuba Emiroglu, independent evaluators, conducted the evaluation in conjunction with the project team members and stakeholders. The evaluation team prepared the evaluation report according to the contract terms specified by O’Brien and Associates International, Inc. The evaluators would like to thank the companies, government officials, partner NGOs, farmers, and migrant workers and their families who offered their time and expertise throughout the evaluation. Funding for this evaluation was provided by the United States Department of Labor under Task Order number 1605DC-17-T-00100. Points of view or opinions in this evaluation report do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the United States Department of Labor, nor does the mention of trade names, commercial products, or organizations imply endorsement by the United States Government. 1 Final Evaluation of Piloting USDA Guidelines in the Hazelnut Industry in Turkey – Elimination of Child Labor and Application of Good Employment Practices– Final Report TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................. 1 Table of Contents ................................................................................................................ 2 Tables and Figures .............................................................................................................. 3 List of Acronyms ................................................................................................................ 4 Executive Summary ............................................................................................................ 5 I. Background and Project Description ........................................................................ 10 1.1. Background ....................................................................................................... 10 1.2. Project Description............................................................................................ 13 II. Evaluation Purpose and Methodology ...................................................................... 15 2.1. Evaluation Purpose ........................................................................................... 15 2.2. Evaluation team ................................................................................................ 15 2.2. Methodology ..................................................................................................... 16 III. Findings..................................................................................................................... 19 3.1. Achievements and Challenges .......................................................................... 19 3.2. Implementation Effectiveness and Efficiency .................................................. 33 3.3. Sustainability..................................................................................................... 41 IV. Conclusions ............................................................................................................... 45 4.1. Achievements and Challenges .......................................................................... 45 4.2. Project Intervention Effectiveness and Efficiency ............................................ 45 4.3. Sustainability..................................................................................................... 46 V. Recommendations ..................................................................................................... 47 5.1. Recommendations for the project going forward ............................................. 47 5.2. Recommendations for similar pilot projects ..................................................... 47 Annexes............................................................................................................................. 49 Annex 1: USDA Guidelines.......................................................................................... 50 Annex 2: Project Outcomes and Sub-outcomes............................................................ 51 Annex 3: Terms of Reference ....................................................................................... 53 Annex 4: List of Documents Reviewed ........................................................................ 69 Annex 5: Interviews and Site Visits.............................................................................. 71 Annex 6: Persons Interviewed ...................................................................................... 72 Annex 7: Interview Guides ........................................................................................... 73 Annex 8: Evaluation Matrix.......................................................................................... 75 Annex 9: Stakeholder Workshop Agenda..................................................................... 78 Annex 10: Stakeholder Workshop Participant List ...................................................... 79 Annex 11: Description of Project Activities and Outputs ............................................ 80 2 Final Evaluation of Piloting USDA Guidelines in the Hazelnut Industry in Turkey – Elimination of Child Labor and Application of Good Employment Practices– Final Report TABLES AND FIGURES Table 1: Number of child workers identified in FLA assessments per region ................. 11 Table 2: Project Intermediate Outcomes........................................................................... 14 Table 3: Stakeholders, sample size and characteristics .................................................... 16 Table 4: Piloting interventions by NGOs in origin area ................................................ 36 Table 5: Total number of labor contractors trained and registered by partner ................. 38 Table 6: Piloting interventions by NGOs in harvest area ................................................. 38 Table 7: Target and actual numbers achieved during 2016 and 2017 harvests ................ 39 Table 8: Project sustainability strategy ............................................................................. 43 Figure 2: Numbers trained by stakeholder group ............................................................. 21 3 Final Evaluation of Piloting USDA Guidelines in the Hazelnut Industry in Turkey – Elimination of Child Labor and Application of Good Employment Practices– Final Report LIST OF ACRONYMS CLMS Child Labor Monitoring System CMEP Comprehensive Monitoring and Evaluation Plan FLA Fair Labor Association FNV Dutch Federation of Trade Unions GHF Genc Hayat Foundation GOT Government of Turkey ILO International Labour Organization ISKUR Government Employee Agency KEDV Foundation for the Support of Women’s Work M&E Monitoring and Evaluation MOLSS Ministry of Labor and Social Security MONE Ministry of National Education MOU Memorandum of Understanding NGO Non-governmental organization OFIS Olam Farm Information System PSC Project Steering Committee TBPPF Time Bound Policy and Program Framework TL Turkish Lira TOR Terms of Reference TOT Training of Trainers UN United Nations USDA United States Department of Agriculture USDOL United States Department of Labor 4 Final Evaluation of Piloting USDA Guidelines in the Hazelnut Industry in Turkey – Elimination of Child Labor and Application of Good Employment Practices– Final Report EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Background Turkey is the largest hazelnut producer in the world, producing approximately 75 percent of the world’s total production. It is also the largest exporter of hazelnuts, accounting for 70 percent, with Europe as its top market. In 2017 it produced 675,000 tons and exported 227,556 tons.1 A 2014 assessment conducted by the Fair Labor Association (FLA) in the hazelnut producing regions of Sakarya, Düzce, and Ordu found that as many as one in 10 workers were children.2 The FLA’s most recent assessment, conducted in 2016,3 identified the significantly higher rate of 10.6 percent of workers at the visited farms were under the age of 16 for the 3 areas, an increase from 2.1 percent found in 2015. Both gaps in the current legislation in Turkey and lack of enforcement with regard to existing laws, contribute to the problem of child labor in Turkey. Laws for workers in seasonal migratory agriculture are particularly problematic. The minimum age of work in Turkey is 15 years for children who have completed primary school. However, by ratifying International Labour Organization (ILO) Convention 182 and following ILO Recommendation No. 90, Turkey has defined seasonal migratory commercial jobs in agriculture as one of the worst forms of child labor to be eliminated for children under 18 years old under its National Time Bound Policy and Program Framework (TBPPF). Despite this, the local Labor